Gen. Mark Milley served multiple combat tours, despite claims otherwise

As chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley is the country’s highest-ranking military officer, as well as the main military adviser to President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the National Security Council. 

But a recent Instagram post is incredulous that he’s worthy of the role. 

"Can someone explain to me how a man who never served in combat and never won a war has THIS many medals on his uniform?" the Feb. 8 post says sharing a photo of Milley.

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But Milley, as a September 2019 New York Times article said before he became chairman, is "a four-star Army officer with multiple combat tours during his 39 years of service." 

When Milley was sworn in a day later, he said of his predecessor, U.S. Marine Corps. Gen. Joe Dunford, that he "served with him in combat" and that he considers Dunford a personal friend whose "friendship was forged with the unbreakable bonds of combat" 

Milley has been deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, among other places around the world, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

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"The Defense Department, with the stroke of a pen, has quietly codified its right to deploy lethal force against its own citizens.”

When he was sworn in as U.S. Army Chief of Staff in 2015, the Army noted that he brought an "extensive background of combat experience having deployed in support of numerous operational assignments."

His many awards and decorations include an "overseas service ribbon with numeral 5" and he’s "authorized to wear the combat infantryman badge with one star," according to the Association of the U.S. Army. 

We rate claims that he’s never served in combat False.